If you’ve decided to take on a gardening DIY project and prune the trees in your yard, there are a few key tools you need in your arsenal. Here are a few of them.

Pole saws are a definite must have. They are available in different lengths, but the length you need obviously depends on the height of the trees in your yard. If you have some really tall oak trees then standing on a ladder is not an option, so you need to invest in a top-quality long reach pole saw. You can use it to get to those hard-to-reach branches.

Secateurs are the right choice for pruning flowering shrubs. There is nothing quite like the burst of color you get from spring shrubs like lilac and roses, and proper pruning will help to ensure that you get to see those gorgeous blooms reappear next year. These beauties should be pruned immediately after the flowers fade.

Hedge Shears are helpful for keeping those evergreen hedges in check. A hedge can make your garden look really smart, but it’s never a good idea to let it go too long without giving it a good pruning. Shears should be sharp and well-oiled, because you don’t want to end up with jagged edges.

Tree saws can take care of those really large branches of your oak and apple trees. If you have trees with branches over 2” in diameter and larger, then these are best tackled with a tree saw.

Tips for Tool Care
If you want to have good results from your pruning efforts, then you need to take care of your tools. Most DIY gardeners are happy to use their tools to snip, cut, and shear during pruning season, but after that they toss them aside until next time. These tools can last you a long time, IF, you take a few simple steps to care them.

· Rust is the chief enemy of your pruning tools, and it’s most likely to attack if you’re in a high-humidity location. So it’s important to keep tools clean. Be sure to remove all sap and residue from your tree pole saw, secateur, and tree saw. You can then sanitize with household bleach or 70% denatured alcohol.
· Sharpen the blades. You can sharpen blades with a whetstone and/or file. Sharp tools give you a cleaner cut, and this is a lot healthier for your plants.
· Oil the blades and the joint of your hedge shears and pole saw after each use, as this will help to keep them snip ready.